Title search important part of buying a house
Among the different aspects of home buying is a title search.
Defining it, a title is an abstract concept that signifies one or more individuals own the property listed on the face of the title.
How important is it?
鈥淚t鈥檚 vital,鈥� said Michalene McGarvey, owner of the Tri-County Abstract in Uniontown.
McGarvey has owned and operated Tri-County Abstract since May 1981. As a former legal secretary with the law firm of Webster & Webster, for a period in excess of 40 years, her primary duties included working with residential and commercial real estate transactions, together with the handling of estate and probate proceedings.
An example of how vital a title search is, McGarvey offered, is 鈥淪uppose you purchase your dream house, a split level ranch with a swimming pool, and when you arrive with your moving van, you find someone else in the house claiming ownership. What would you do? Or, suppose you are awakened early one morning by a construction crew preparing to bulldoze your entire front yard for a railroad track to be built on an easement claimed to pass through your yard? What happens now? What if you receive a notice of past due property taxes which must be paid within a few days or the property will be put up for sale? Owner鈥檚 Title Insurance is designed to prevent these problems from ever happening, and give you a source of protection if something unforeseen does occur.
鈥淲e do a title search back at least 60 years to find if there are any liens, judgments or other claims on the house,鈥� McGarvey said.
鈥淚t is very important that the buyer has a title search. We also offer them a policy assuring them that the property has a free and clear title,鈥� she added.
Some of the things a title search looks for include unpaid taxes, liens, rights-of-way, easements and others, she said.
Without a title search, McGarvey said someone could 鈥渃ome back and make a claim on the property.
鈥淭here could be a person out there who is incapacitated and no one has been appointed as guardian who might have a claim. We have had some cases where people have done a title search on their own and it is not the right house. We have even seen cases where a mortgage is written on the wrong house.
鈥淭he buyer thinks he owns the house but he doesn鈥檛.鈥�
Searches for liens are an essential part of the process, she added, 鈥渂ecause everyone is putting liens against properties.
鈥淲e had one transaction where there was an alien certificate in the name of the owner. But the garbage hauler called and said $600 was still owed. We found out the owner had a tenant in the property and had put the garbage bill in the tenant鈥檚 name.
鈥淛udgments no one knows about can be devastating for the buyer. What if the current owner has a mortgage nobody knows about? By not putting a title search on the property, the buyer could be responsible to pay it off,鈥� McGarvey said.
What are some ways a buyer can protect his investment?
McGarvey said title Insurance is the only guaranteed protection against real estate title losses 鈥� it insures ownership of the home.
鈥淵our lending institution will require lender鈥檚 title insurance, but that only protects their interest. It insures the lender for the original amount of the loan against invalidity of the mortgage which secures the loan,鈥� she added.
鈥淭he owner鈥檚 title insurance policy protects you, the buyer,鈥� she said.
For more information about title searches call Tri-County Abstract at 724-438-6511.